Atomizer and e-cigarette comprising the same

ABSTRACT

An atomizer, including an end cover, the end cover including a main body. The main body includes an outer peripheral wall, and the outer peripheral wall includes an annular recess for air circulation. The annular recess includes a wall including an air inlet and/or an air vent.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C.§ 119 and the Paris Convention Treaty, thisapplication claims foreign priority to Chinese Patent Application No.202010981307.X filed Sep. 17, 2020, to Chinese Patent Application No.202010981599.7 filed Sep. 17, 2020, to Chinese Patent Application No.202022048684.6 filed Sep. 17, 2020, to Chinese Patent Application No.202110361302.1 filed Apr. 2, 2021, and to Chinese Patent Application No.202120678278.X filed Apr. 2, 2021. The contents of all of theaforementioned applications, including any intervening amendmentsthereto, are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates to an atomizer and an e-cigarette comprising thesame.

In a conventional atomizer, external air enters an atomization channelthrough an air inlet to drive smoke to flow to the mouthpiece. Condensede-liquid easily leaks from the air inlet along the atomization channel,thereby staining the atomizer, which adversely affects user experience.

In the process of filling the e-liquid tank of the atomizer withe-liquid, air present in the e-liquid tank results in a relatively lowfilling efficiency as entry of the e-liquid into the tank is hampered byair escaping through the inlet.

In addition, when the e-cigarette is in use, the e-liquid is atomizedinto vapor by a heater. Because the e-liquid tank is isolated from theoutside environment and the air cannot flow into the e-liquid tank, thee-liquid does not contact with the heater quickly enough due to thepressure difference. As a result, the heater may suffer a burnt out.

SUMMARY

The disclosure provides an atomizer comprising an end cover. The endcover comprises a main body comprising an outer peripheral wall. Theouter peripheral wall comprises an annular recess for air circulation.The annular recess comprises a wall comprising an air inlet and/or anair vent. The atomizer comprises an atomizing channel in which a heatingelement is disposed to heat and atomize the e-liquid. The atomizingchannel allows the smoke generated from atomizing the e-liquid to flowto the mouthpiece. The air inlet directly communicates with theatomizing channel or communicates with the atomizing channel through thepassage. The air vent directly communicates with the e-liquid tank orcommunicates with the e-liquid tank through an e-liquid channel. Incertain embodiments, the air inlet is disposed on the wall of theannular recess, but the air vent is not provided; in the case where, thee-liquid vapor is condensed into liquid and stays in the atomizingchannel or the annular recess, preventing leakage of the e-liquid. Incertain embodiments, the air vent is disposed on the wall of the annularrecess and the air inlet is disposed on the other components of theatomizer, which prevent the e-liquid leakage and make the e-liquidfilling fast. In certain embodiments, both the air inlet and the airvent are disposed on the wall of the annular recess, which makes thesmoke and the air flow more smoothly.

The main body comprises an air passage communicating with the air inletand optionally communicating with the atomizing channel. In certainembodiments, the main body is not provided with the air passage and theair inlet is disposed on the main body; the atomizing channel isdisposed on the distal end of the main body and is directly connected tothe air inlet.

The air passage extends from a proximal end toward a distal end of themain body. The air inlet is disposed on the bottom wall of the annularrecess and directly communicates with the air passage.

A first tube is disposed on the distal end of the main body andcommunicates with the air passage. The first tube provides conveniencefor the main body to connect with the atomizing channel (for example, aposition limiter) and for a first seal to be positioned and prevents theposition limiter from moving from side to side.

The main body further comprises an air hole through which the externalair flows into the annular recess. In certain embodiments, the main bodyis not provided with the air hole. When the annular recess is sealedwith a casing of the atomizer, the air hole is disposed on the casing.When the main body comprises a seal wall for sealing the annular recess,the air hole is disposed on the seal wall. When the main body isinserted into the e-liquid tank and the annular recess is sealed withthe inside wall of the e-liquid tank, the air hole is disposed on theinside wall of the e-liquid tank so that the airflow is inhaled into theannular recess through the air hole.

The air hole extends from the proximal end of the main body into theannular recess. Specifically, the air hole extends from the proximal endof the main body into the wall of the annular recess.

A second tube is disposed on the wall of the annular recess andcommunicates with the air hole. The second tube prevents the e-liquid inthe annular recess from leaking out through the air hole, and theairflow is guided by the second tube toward the annular recess.

The main body further comprises an e-liquid channel communicating withthe air vent disposed on the wall of the annular recess.

The e-liquid channel is disposed on the distal end of the main body andcomprises an open end communicating with the e-liquid tank and a blindend.

A third tube is disposed on the distal end of the main body andcommunicates with the e-liquid channel. The third tube providesconvenience for the first seal to be positioned and prevents thee-liquid from leaking out from the open end of the e-liquid channel.

The wall of the annular recess further comprises a first recesscommunicating with the air vent. The first recess is disposed on thewall of the annular recess. The first recess comprises a side wall and abottom wall. The air vent is disposed on the side wall or the bottomwall of the first recess. The absorber is disposed in the first recessso as to adsorb the e-liquid remaining in the air vent and quicklyexpand to prevent the e-liquid from flowing from the air vent into thee-liquid tank. When the user smokes the e-cigarette, the e-liquidattached to the absorber are sucked into the e-liquid tank with theairflow. In certain embodiments, the air vent is disposed on the wall ofthe annular recess without the first recess.

The side wall of the first recess comprises an air channel extendingalong the depth direction of the first recess.

The air vent is disposed on the side wall of the first recess and asecond recess is disposed on the bottom wall of the first recess; oneend of the second recess communicates with the air vent and the otherend of the second recess communicates with the air channel; or the airvent is disposed on the bottom wall of the first recess and communicateswith the air channel. When the air vent is disposed on the side wall ofthe first recess, the blind end of the e-liquid channel is disposed inthe air vent. The second recess is used to guide air flow.

The air channel is less than or equal to 0.5 mm in depth and is lessthan or equal to 3 mm in width. Preferably, the air channel is less thanor equal to 0.1 mm in depth and is less than or equal to 1 mm in width.For example, the depth of the air channel is 0.03 mm, 0.05 mm, 0.07 mm,0.1 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, or 0.4 mm; and the width of the airchannel is 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.45 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.55 mm, 0.6mm, 0.65 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, 0.9 mm, 1 mm, 1.5 mm, 2 mm, or 2.5 mm.

The cross-sectional area of the air vent is less than or equal to 7 mm².Preferably, the cross-sectional area of the air vent is less than orequal to 3.2 mm²; and the air channel is less than or equal to 0.2 mm indepth and is less than or equal to 2 mm in width; and more preferably,the cross-sectional area of the air vent is less than or equal to 0.8mm². For example, the cross-sectional area of the air vent is 0.21 mm²,0.24 mm², 0.26 mm², 0.79 mm², 1.77 mm², 3.1 mm², or 4.9 mm².

The main body further comprises a first fill hole extending from theproximal end toward the distal end of the main body. The e-liquid isinjected into the e-liquid tank through the first fill hole.

The atomizer of the disclosure comprises an e-liquid tank. The main bodyis disposed on one end of the e-liquid tank; and the annular recess andthe inside wall of the e-liquid tank forms a closed space; or the endcover comprises a seal wall for sealing the annular recess of the mainbody; the seal wall is integrated with or detachably connected to themain body; and the end cover is connected to one end of the e-liquidtank.

The atomizer further comprises an atomizing assembly comprising a hollowposition limiter and a heating element. One end of the hollow positionlimiter is disposed in the air passage and the other end of the positionlimiter is disposed in the e-liquid tank. The hollow position limitercomprises at least one second fill hole. The at least one second fillhole is in the e-liquid tank. The heating element is disposed in theposition limiter and is opposite to the at least one second fill hole.

The proximal end of the air passage is sealed with the holder. Theholder is disposed on one end of the hollow position limiter and theheating element is fixedly disposed on the holder. The heating elementcomprises a pin. One end of the holder away from the hollow positionlimiter comprises a fastener into which the pin of the heating elementis inserted.

One end of the position limiter communicates with a vapor channel.

The absorber is disposed in the air vent.

The absorber is disposed on the bottom wall of the first recess oppositeto the air vent.

A filling plug is disposed in the bottom wall of the first recessopposite to the air vent and is disposed on the absorber. The absorberis tightened by the filling plug to prevent falling off. The fillingplug comprises rubber, wood, etc.

The first seal is disposed on the distal end of the main body so as toseal the gap between the main body and the end cover. The first sealcomprises a through hole matching the first tube and the second tube andhas the same cross-sectional shape as the main body.

The air passage comprises an inner wall and the position limitercomprises an outer wall. A second seal is disposed between the innerwall of the air passage and the outer wall of the position limiter.

A third seal is disposed between the vapor channel and the positionlimiter. The vapor channel comprises rubber, plastic, etc. Preferably,the vapor channel is disposed on the outer circumference of the one endof the position limiter and the third seal is disposed between the vaporchannel and the position limiter.

An oil plug is disposed on the first fill hole.

A protective cover comprises metal and is disposed on the proximal endof the main body. When the heating element achieves high temperatures,the atomizing assembly expands and is covered by the protective cover toprevent leakage of the e-liquid.

The e-cigarette of the disclosure comprises the atomizer and a batteryassembly. The atomizer is fixedly or detachably connected to the batteryassembly.

As used herein, the term “proximal,” as is traditional, refers to theend portion of the apparatus that is closest to the operator, while theterm “distal” refers to the end portion that is farthest from theoperator.

The first seal, the second seal, the third seal, and the oil plugcomprise rubber, plastic, silicone, etc.

The following advantages are associated with the atomizer and thee-cigarette comprising the same of the disclosure:

1. The atomizer comprises a closed space for preventing leakage of oilfrom the air passage to the outside, which causes the atomizer to bestained.

2. The air is discharged through the air vent, which makes the e-liquidfilling faster, preventing leakage of the e-liquid from the first fillhole and thus avoiding staining the atomizer.

3. The conventional e-liquid tank is isolated from the outsideenvironment and the air cannot flow into the e-liquid tank, e-liquidcannot immediately contact the heater due to the pressure difference ofthe air, which is likely to burn out the heater. The air is inhaled intothe e-liquid tank through the first recess and the air vent,accelerating the flow velocity of the smoke generated.

4. The absorber adsorbs the e-liquid remaining in the air vent andquickly expands to prevent the e-liquid from flowing through the airvent into the e-liquid tank. When the user is smoking, the e-liquidattached to the absorber are sucked into the e-liquid tank with theairflow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an atomizer according to one embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an atomizer according to one embodimentof the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an atomizer according toone embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is schematic diagram of an end cover according to one embodimentof the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating direction of air in an atomizer duringe-liquid filling according to one embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating directions of air and smoke in anatomizer during smoking according to one embodiment of the disclosure.

In the drawings, the following reference numbers are used: 1. E-liquidtank; 101. Mouthpiece; 102. Vapor channel; 2. Third seal; 3. First seal;4. End cover; 5. Second seal; 6. Protective cover; 7. Oil plug; 8.Position limiter; 9. Heating element; 10. Holder; 11. Fastener; 12.Absorber; 13. Filling plug; 14. Air hole; 15. Air inlet; 16. First fillhole; 17. Air channel; 18. Air vent; 19. First recess; 190. Secondgroove; 191. Side wall of the first recess; 192. Bottom wall of thefirst recess; 20. Closed space; 41. Annular recess; 411. Bottom wall ofthe annular recess; 412. First side wall; 413. Second side wall; 42.First tube; 43. Third tube; 44. Second tube; 45. E-liquid channel; and46. Air passage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To further illustrate, embodiments detailing an atomizer and ane-cigarette comprising the same are described below. It should be notedthat the following embodiments are intended to describe and not to limitthe disclosure.

Example 1

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, an e-cigarette comprises an atomizer and abattery assembly. The atomizer comprises an e-liquid tank 1, a firstseal 3, a second seal 5, a third seal 2, an end cover 4, a protectivecover 6, an oil plug 7, a position limiter 8, a heating element 9, aholder 10, a fastener 11, an absorber 12, and a filling plug 13.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the e-liquid tank 1 comprises a mouthpiece 101and a vapor channel 102 communicating with the mouthpiece 101. The smokegenerated from heating e-liquid flows through the vapor channel 102 tothe mouthpiece 101.

Referring to FIG. 4, the end cover 4 comprises a main body comprising anouter peripheral wall. The outer peripheral wall comprises an annularrecess for circulation. The main body further comprises an air hole 14,an air inlet 15, a first fill hole 16, and a first recess 19. Theannular recess comprises a side wall and a bottom wall 411. The sidewall of the annular recess comprises a first side wall 412 and a secondside wall 413. The air inlet 15 and the first recess 19 are disposed onthe bottom wall 411 of the annular recess 41. The first recess 19comprises a side wall 191 and a bottom wall 192. The side wall 191 ofthe first recess 19 comprises an air channel 17 and an air vent 18opposite to the air channel 17. A second groove 190 is disposed on thebottom wall 192 of the first recess 19. One end of the second groove 190communicates with the air vent 18 and the other end of the second groove190 communicates with the air channel 17. The main body comprises aproximal end and a distal end. A first tube 42 and a third tube 43 aredisposed at the distal end of the main body, and a second tube 44 isdisposed on the second side wall 413 of the annular recess 41.

The first tube 42 communicates with the air passage 46. The second tube44 communicates with the air hole 14. The third tube 43 communicateswith the first fill hole 16. The air channel 17 extends along the depthdirection of the first recess 19.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the first seal 3 is disposed on the end cover 4and pressed into a lower portion of the e-liquid tank 1. The first seal3 is disposed between the e-liquid tank 1 and the end cover 4, resistingleaks in the interface. The end cover 4 is disposed into the lowerportion of the e-liquid tank 1. The annular recess 41 and the insidewall of the e-liquid tank 1 forms a closed space 20. The air inlet 15and the first recess 19 are disposed in the closed space 20. The airhole 14 and the first fill hole 16 are disposed at the proximal end ofthe main body. The air hole 14 communicates with the closed space 20.The first fill hole 16 communicates with the e-liquid tank 1 through ane-liquid channel 45. The air inlet 15 communicates with the air passage46. Referring to FIG. 4, the air vent 18 is disposed on one end of theside wall of the first recess 19 and communicates with the e-liquidchannel 45. The air channel 17 is disposed on the other end of the sidewall of the first recess 19.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the third seal 2 is disposed in the vaporchannel 102 which functions as an atomizing channel. The absorber 12 isdisposed at the bottom of the first recess 19 so as to adsorb thee-liquid remaining in the air vent 18 and quickly expand to prevent thee-liquid from flowing through the air vent 18 into the e-liquid tank 1.When the user smokes the e-cigarette, the e-liquid attached to theabsorber 12 are sucked into the cartridge with the airflow. The fillingplug 13 is disposed in the first recess 19, so that the air can onlyflow through the air channel 17 when being inhaled and exhausted. Theabsorber 12 is tightened by the filling plug 13 to prevent falling off.The heating element 9 is disposed in the position limiter 8 so as toheat and atomize the e-liquid. The position limiter 8 is fixed on theholder 10. The fastener 11 is disposed in the bottom of the heatingelement 9. The heating element 9 comprises a pin inserted into thefastener 11. The position limiter 8, the heating element 9, the holder10, and the fastener 11 are integrated to form an atomizing assembly.The position limiter 8 comprises at least one second fill hole. Thesecond seal 5 is disposed in the air passage 46. The atomizing assemblypenetrates through the air passage 46 and is inserted into the e-liquidtank 1. The position limiter 8 is disposed in the e-liquid tank 1. Thefirst end of the position limiter 8 passes through the third seal 2 andis inserted into the vapor channel 102. The oil plug 7 is dispose in thefirst fill hole 16 so as to prevent leakage of the e-liquid. Theprotective cover 6 is disposed on the lower portion of the e-liquid tank1 so as to conduct electricity and prevent deformation of the e-liquidtank 1 during the heating stage.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, when the e-liquid is injected into the e-liquidtank 1 through the first fill hole 16, the air in the e-liquid tank 1 isdischarged through the air vent 18 into the first recess 19, into theclosed space 20, and out of the air hole 14. When the user is smoking,the external air is inhaled into the closed space 20 through the airhole 14. A part of the air enters the air passage 46 from the air inlet15 and drives the smoke generated by the heating element 9 to theposition limiter 8, and the smoke is inhaled into use's mouth from thevapor channel 102. Another part of the air enters the first recess 19from the air channel 17 and flows through the air vent 18 into thee-liquid tank 1. In the e-liquid tank 1, the air accelerates the flowvelocity of the smoke generated so that the smoke generated flows to theheating element 9 from the second fill hole.

Example 2

The example is basically the same as Example 1, except that the annularrecess 41 of the example comprises the air vent 18 disposed on the slotwall, but the air inlet 15 and the air passage 46 are not provided. Theannular recess 41 of the example is used in combination with the airvent 18. The atomizer comprises an atomizing channel comprising theheating element 9 used to heat and atomize the e-liquid, and theatomizing channel allows the smoke generated to flow to the mouthpiece101. The air inlet 15 communicates with the atomizing channel of theheating element 9.

Example 3

The example is basically the same as Example 1, except that the annularrecess 41 of the example comprises the air inlet 15 disposed on the slotwall, but the air vent 18 is not provided. The annular recess 41 of theexample is used in combination with the air inlet 15. The air vent 18 isprovided on the atomizer disposed on the inside wall of the e-liquidtank 1.

Example 4

The example is basically the same as Examples 1-3, except that a sealwall (not shown) is disposed on the outer circumference of the main bodyof the end cover. The annular recess 41 is sealed with the seal wall toform the closed space 20. The seal wall is integrated with, detachablyconnected to, or fixedly connected to the main body of the end cover 4.The end cover 4 is inserted into the e-liquid tank 1 or disposed aroundthe outer circumference of one end of the e-liquid tank 1. The end cover4 is connected to the e-liquid tank 1 with any method.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes andmodifications may be made, and therefore, the aim in the appended claimsis to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. An atomizer, comprising an end cover, the endcover comprising a main body; the main body comprising an outerperipheral wall, and the outer peripheral wall comprising an annularrecess for air circulation; and the annular recess comprising a wallcomprising an air inlet and/or an air vent.
 2. The atomizer of claim 1,wherein the main body further comprises an air passage; the air inletcommunicates with the air passage; the air passage extends from aproximal end toward a distal end of the main body; and a first tube isdisposed on the distal end of the main body and communicates with theair passage.
 3. The atomizer of claim 1, wherein the main body furthercomprises an air hole through which external air flows into the annularrecess.
 4. The atomizer of claim 2, wherein the air hole extends fromthe proximal end of the main body into the annular recess; and a secondtube is disposed on the wall of the annular recess and communicates withthe air hole.
 5. The atomizer of claim 4, wherein the main body furthercomprises an e-liquid channel communicating with the air vent disposedon the wall of the annular recess.
 6. The atomizer of claim 5, whereinthe e-liquid channel is disposed on the distal end of the main body andcomprises an open end communicating with an e-liquid tank and a blindend; and a third tube is disposed on the distal end of the main body andcommunicates with the e-liquid channel.
 7. The atomizer of claim 1,wherein the wall of the annular recess further comprises a first recessand the air vent communicates with the first recess.
 8. The atomizer ofclaim 7, wherein a side wall of the first recess comprises an airchannel extending along a depth direction of the first recess.
 9. Theatomizer of claim 8, wherein the air vent is disposed on the side wallof the first recess and a second recess is disposed on a bottom wall ofthe first recess; one end of the second recess communicates with the airvent and the other end of the second recess communicates with the airchannel; or the air vent is disposed on the bottom wall of the firstrecess and communicates with the air channel.
 10. The atomizer of claim8, wherein the air channel is less than or equal to 0.5 mm in depth andis less than or equal to 3 mm in width.
 11. The atomizer of claim 1,wherein a cross-sectional area of the air vent is less than or equal to7 mm².
 12. The atomizer of claim 1, wherein the main body furthercomprises a first fill hole extending from the proximal end toward thedistal end of the main body.
 13. The atomizer of claim 2, wherein theatomizer further comprises an e-liquid tank; the main body is disposedon one end of the e-liquid tank; and the annular recess and an insidewall of the e-liquid tank forms a closed space; or the end covercomprises a seal wall for sealing the annular recess of the main body;the seal wall is integrated with or detachably connected to the mainbody; and the end cover is connected to one end of the e-liquid tank.14. The atomizer of claim 13, wherein the atomizer further comprises anatomizing assembly comprising a hollow position limiter and a heatingelement; one end of the hollow position limiter is disposed in the airpassage and the other end of the hollow position limiter is disposed inthe e-liquid tank; the hollow position limiter comprises at least onesecond fill hole; the at least one second fill hole is in the e-liquidtank; the heating element is disposed in the hollow position limiter andis opposite to the at least one second fill hole.
 15. The atomizer ofclaim 14, wherein a proximal end of the air passage is sealed with aholder; the holder is disposed on one end of the hollow position limiterand the heating element is fixedly disposed on the holder; the heatingelement comprises a pin; one end of the holder away from the hollowposition limiter comprises a fastener, and the pin of the heatingelement is fixed on the fastener.
 16. The atomizer of claim 14, whereinthe e-liquid tank comprises a mouthpiece and a vapor channelcommunicating with the mouthpiece; one end of the position limiter abutsagainst the vapor channel, and is disposed in or outside the vaporchannel.
 17. The atomizer of claim 7, wherein an absorber is disposed inthe air vent or is disposed on the bottom wall of the first recess. 18.The atomizer of claim 17, wherein a filling plug is disposed in thebottom wall of the first recess and is disposed on the absorber.
 19. Theatomizer of claim 16, wherein a first seal is disposed on the distal endof the main body to seal a gap between the main body and the end cover;a second seal is disposed between an inner wall of the air passage andan outer wall of the position limiter; a third seal is disposed betweenthe vapor channel and the position limiter; an oil plug is disposed onthe first fill hole; and a protective cover is disposed on the proximalend of the main body.
 20. An electronic cigarette, comprising theatomizer of claim 1 and a battery assembly.